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Mike Rougeau is a freelance writer living in Los Angeles, CA. When he's not taking pictures of his dog he's covering video games, technology and entertainment. Follow him on Twitter and Google+ for all the inane ramblings you can handle.

Xbox Live's Summer of Arcade promotion concludes today with the release of Dust: An Elysian Tail, the cap to an imperfect but welcome season of standout Xbox Live Arcade releases.

First came Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD in July, a hi-def blast from the past. Next was Wreckateer, a fun but shallow Kinect game that amounted to 3D Angry Birds.

August kicked off with Deadlight, a 2D survival horror/platformer that may be looked at as the best of the bunch, followed by Hybrid, a sci-fi third-person shooter with some unique multiplayer features.

Finally, today sees the release of Dust: An Elysian Tale, the most visually striking of this summer's Arcade releases. The 2D action RPG is the labor of love of one man, Dean Dodrill. We've had a chance to test it out for several hours, and if the art style appeals to you and you don't mind its kid-friendly animated aesthetic, then the gorgeous visuals and surprisingly deep hack 'n slash combat should be more than enough to draw you in.

What's your favorite of this year's Summer of Arcade releases on Xbox Live? Tell us in the comments or on Twitter.

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